Ants in the diet of a Cambodian Pitcher Plant.

Pitcher Plants, or Monkey-cups, are carnivorous plants that trap Insects inside a deep, fluid-filled trap, where their bodies are then digested, providing valuable nutrients for the plants, which are thereby able to survive on very nutrient-poor soils. They are not a true taxonomic group, with different groups of Pitcher Plants apparently having evolved separately from Flypaper Trap Plants, which trap and digest Insects using sticky secretions from their leaves (Flypaper Trap Plants are also polyphyletic; they have evolved separately a number of times).

Pitcher Plants of the genus Nepenthes are found across southern Asia, Indonesia, New Caledonia and Australia, as well as in the Seychelles and Madagascar. They are not thought to be closely related to any other group of Pitcher Plants. 

Previous studies of Plants in the genus Nepenthes have found that Ants form a major part of their diet, but have not looked closely into which Ants are being consumed, either because the remains are often two badly digested for taxonomic identification, or because the scientists involved lacked sufficient expertise in Ant taxonomy. 

In a paper published in the July 2012 edition of the Cambodian Journal of Natural History, Shingo Hosoishi and Sang-Hyung Park of the Institute of Tropical Agriculture at Kyushu University, Seike Yamane of the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Science at Kagoshima University, and Kazuo Ogata, also of the Institute of Tropical Agriculture at Kyushu University present the results of a survey of Ants in the diet of Nepenthes bokorensis, a Pitcher Plant found only on Mount Bokor in southern Cambodia, living on sandy soils at altitudes of between 800 and 1080 m.

A specimen of Nepenthes bokorensis growing in the Phnom Bokor National Park. Don Pirot/Rutgers University.

Hosoishi et al. split a section of forest margin in the Phom Bokor National Park, at an altitude of 900 m,  into 3 transects, 0-5 m, 5-10m and 10-15 m from a forest edge. Each transect contained 10 Pitcher Plants, for a total of 30 individuals. Ants were collected from the traps of these pitcher plants in December 2012.

Ten species of Ant were collected, belonging to nine genera; eight from the transect nearest to the forest edge, ten from the middle transect and six from the outer transect. Species diversity did not significantly vary between the transects.

The most abundant species of Ant, making up 40% of the individuals collected was identified as Polyrhachis (Myrma) sp. These are large Ants, and may contribute significantly to the nutritional requirements of the Pitcher Plants.

Polyrhachis (Myrma) sp. The scale bar is 0.5 mm. Hosoishi et al. (2012).

The next most abundant species was Dolichoderus thoracicus, a widespread southeast Asian species often used as a biological pest-control agent (i.e. often introduced to new areas by humans), due its ability to keep down the numbers of some Insects considered agricultural pests. Dolichoderus thoracicus is highly adaptable, and can nest both on the ground and in the branches of trees.

Dolichoderus thoracicus. The scale bar is 0.5 mm. Hosoishi et al. (2012).

The third most abundant species was identified as Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) sp., another large species, likely to make a significant contribution to the Pitcher Plant's diet.

Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) sp., minor worker (there are larger castes of this Ant). The scale bar is 0.5 mm. Hosoishi et al. (2012).

Significant numbers of Ants belonging to the Cardiocondyla wroughtonii complex (complex implies scientists are uncertain of these Ants are all the same species, though they are clearly closely related). These are invasive introduced Ants from tropical Africa, and while they are not as harmful as some introduced Ant species, do appear to be spreading rapidly in southeast Asia. Hosoishi et al. suggest that if this Ant is equally vulnerable to other species of Pitcher Plant, then sampling these plants could be a good way to monitor their spread.

An Ant from the Cardiocondyla wroughtonii complex. The scale bar is 0.5 mm. Hosoishi et al. (2012).

See also New species of Ghost Ant named after Edward O. Wilson, and Evidence of fungal parasites modifying the behavior of ants from the Eocene Messel Shale.

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A new species of Green Lacewing discovered on Flikr®.

Green Lacewings (Chrysopidae) are a globally distributed group of carnivorous flying Insects, ranging from 6 to 65 mm in length (though the larger forms are exclusively tropical). The main prey of many temperate species is Aphids, making them a popular form of biological control. Green Lacewings were formerly grouped with Brown Lacewings (Hemerobiidae) as 'Lacewings', but these groups are now thought not to be very closely related, with Green Lacewings most closely related to Osmylid Flies (Netwings), while the Brown Lacewings are more closely related to Dustywings (Coniopterygidae), Spongeflies (Sisyridae) and Mantisflies.

In May 2011 amateur naturalist and photographer Hock Ping Guek spotted an unfamiliar Green Lacewing close to the entrance of the Selangor State Park in Peninsular Malaysia, which he photographed. He then placed the images of on the photo-sharing website Flikr®, in the hope that somebody would be able to identify the Insect. The pictures were seen by Shaun Winterton of the California State Collection of Arthropods at the California Department of Food & Agriculture, who realized that this was a species new to science, and contacted Guek to see if he was able to obtain another specimen of the insect, which he was (this is pretty amazing, many tropical insects are known only from single specimens).

Hock Ping Guek's original photograph of the new Green Lacewing. Winterton et al. (2012).

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 7 August 2012, Winterton, Guek and Stephen Brooks of the Department of Entomology at The Natural History Museum in London, formally describe the new Lacewing as Semachrysa jade, Jade's Green Lacewing, in honour of Winterton's daughter, based upon the new specimen obtained by Guek, and another specimen found in the Entomology Collection of The Natural History Museum in London, which was collected in Sabah State, Malaysian Borneo in 1981 (finding new species in museum collections is not unusual, many specimens are collected incidentally, by scientists studying other organisms).

The second specimen, from which the species Semachrysa jade was described. Winterton et al. (2012).

Semachrysa jade is a 15 mm Green Lacewing with a distinctive black marking on both wings. It was found in dense forrest 0.8 km south southwest of entrance of Selangor State Park in Peninsula Malaysia; the terrain where the Sabah specimen was collected is not recorded.

Map showing the location of the site where Guek collected his specimen. Google Maps.

The location of the site where Guek collected his specimen. Winterton et al. (2012).

Line drawing showing the distinctive markings on the wings of Semachrysa jade. Abbreviations: dcc, distal cubital cell; ig, inner gradate series; psc, pseudocubital vein; psm, pseudomedial vein; og; outer gradate series. Scale line: 1.0 mm. Winterton et al. (2012).

See also A new species of Antlion from China, Snakeflies in amber from the Early Cretaceous of northern Spain and New species of Owlfly from Morocco.

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Eruption on Ivan Grozny.

On 16 August 2012 the Itar-Tass news agency reported an eruption on the Ivan Grozny (Ivan the Terrible) volcano on Iturup Island in the Kuril Archipelago to the northeast of Hokkaido, producing ash-falls up to 25 km from the caldera. Ivan Grozny forms a caldera 3 × 3.5 km, open to the south. Their are several Holocene (less than 10 000 year old) lava domes to the northeast of this caldera, and a single large dome to the south, which is called the Grozny Dome (Terrible Dome). To the east lies a second volcano, Tebenkov, and south of this the Machekh Crater, which frequently produces fumaroles (gas emissions).

The location of Ivan Grozny. Google Maps.

The first recorded eruption on Ivan Grozny occurred in February 1968, when a small explosive eruption occurred. Similar events happened in 1970, January 1973 and May 1973. In 1989 a series of small eruptions lasted from May to August, triggering several lahars (mud flows), since when the volcano has been quiet.

The Kuril Archipelago runs from the northwestern tip of Hokkaido to the southern tip of the Kamtchatka Peninsula. It marks the southern margin of the Okhotsk Plate, which underlies the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin Island and Tōhoku and Hokkaidō in Japan. Along this southern margin the Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath the Okhotsk Plate in the Kuril Trench. As the Pacific Plate sinks under the Okhotsk Plate it is partial melted by the resultant friction and the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of the melted material then rises up through the overlying Okhotsk Plate as magma, fueling the volcanoes of the Kuril Archipelago.

Simple diagram showing the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Okhotsk Plate along the Kuril Trench. Auburn University.

See also Massive deep Earthquake beneath the Sea of Okhotsk, Earthquake shakes the Kamchatka Peninsula, Eruption on Mount Kanaga, Russian oil rig capsizes and sinks in under 20 minutes in the Sea of Othotsk and Volcanoes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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A new species of Toothcarp from Iran.

The Toothcarps of the genus Aphanius are the only Eurasian members of the Family Cyprinodontidae; all other members of the family are restricted to the Americas, where they are variously known as Pupfish, Flagfish and Killifish (the term Killifish is also used to describe a number of Fish in other families; some members of the genus Aphanius are also called Killifish). Toothcarp are small carnivorous fish found in rivers and ponds across southern Europe, North Africa and southwest Asia; they are not closely related to true Carp.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 17 August 2012, a team of scientists led by Azad Teimori of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, and the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Sciences at Shahid-Bahonar University of Kerman, describe a new species of Toothcarp from Namak Lake basin in Markazi Province in north-central Iran.

The new species of Toothcarp was discovered during fieldwork in 2007 in a shallow pond in the Namak Lake basin, 5 km south east of the city of Arak. The pond was roughly  4 × 6 m, and fed by drainage from a natural spring. The water was warm (23℃), and semi-stagnant. The pool had a muddy bottom with some gravel and lacked vegetation; the surrounding area was dominated by Rushes and Bulrushes. The new Fish was the only species present, it was also found in a number of nearby springs.

The pool in which the new species of Toothcarp was discovered. Teimori et al. (2012).

The new species is named Aphanius arakensis, the Arak Toothcarp, it is a 22.5-38.5 mm fish that was identified as a probable new species on the basis of the distinctive male colouration (dark grey with blue bars, the females are grayish), and this was later confirmed on the basis of otolith (ear-bone) morphology and gene sequencing.

Aphanius arakensis. (Top) male. (Bottom) female. Teimori et al. (2012).

The number of species of Aphanius in Iran has increased rapidly in recent years, since it has been discovered that differences in male colouration usually reflect different species, suggesting that sexual selection is the major driver of speciation in the group here (and probably elsewhere). It is highly probable that more species will be described in the group in the near future.

Map showing the distribution of endemic Aphanius species in Iran. Teimori et al. (2012).

See also New species of Grenadier from Japan, Two new species of Asian Sea Bass from South Asia, New species of Priapiumfish from the Mekong Delta, Head-Butting in Giant Bumphead Parrotfish and Boney Fish on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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A fossil Insect from the Late Devonian of Belgium.

The Insects are thought to have first emerged in the Silurian Period, over 416 million years ago, though fossil insects are very rare earlier than the Late Carboniferous, becoming more common after 345 million years ago. Whether this means that insects were rare in this interval, or simply were not preserved is unclear. Traditionally interpretation of the palaeontological record has suggested that the Insects underwent a major bout of diversification during the Late Carboniferous, but recent molecular studies have suggested that several groups of Insects might be older than this.

In a paper published in the journal Nature on 2 August 2012, a team of scientists led by Romain Garrouste of Entomologie at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, describe the discovery of a complete fossil Insect from the Late Famennian (364.7-360.7 million years old, Late Devonian) Bois des Mouches Formation at Strud in Namur Province, Belgium.

Map showing the location where the new fossil was found. Google Maps.

The new fossil is named Strudiella devonica, the Devonian little fossil from Strud. It is an 8 mm long Arthropod with a body divided into head, thorax and abdomen with three pairs of legs on the thorax (the diagnostic features of an Insect). It also has a pair of long antennae, and mandibles (jaws) which suggest an omnivorous diet. Its bodyplan is more suggestive of a winged Insect than a non-winged Insect, however it lacks wings, suggesting that it might be a nymph of an Insect which underwent incomplete metamorphosis (such as a Dragonfly); in such Insects the larval form (nymph) resembles the adult, but lacks wings and is often aquatic.

Strudiella devonica (Top) Photograph. (Bottom) Interpretive drawing. White arrows

indicate legs visible on part. abd, abdomen; ant, antenna; h, head; md, mandible. Scale bar, 1mm. Garrouste et al. (2012).

See also An early Cricket from southeast India, New Ommatid Beetles from the Mesozoic of China, Fishflies from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, Snakeflies in amber from the Early Cretaceous of northern Spain and A Hatchet Wasp preserved in Tertiary amber from Mexico.

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New species of Ghost Ant named after Edward O. Wilson.

Ghost Ants of the genus Tapinoma are small stingless ants with a worldwide distribution. There are over sixty described species, including the sun-loving European Erratic Ant (Tapinoma erraticum), the widespread pest species Tapinoma melanocephalum, and the North American Odorous House Ant. 

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 30 July 2012, Mostafa Sharaf and Abdulrahman Aldawood of the Plant Protection Department of the College of Food and Agriculture Sciences at King Saud University, and Magdi ElHawagry of the Basic Sciences Department of the Community College at Al-Baha University, describe a new species of Ghost Ant from Dhi Ayn Archaeological Village in the Al Sarawat Mountains of Saudi Arabia.

The Dhi Ayn Archaeological Village in Al Bahah Province, where the new species of Ant was discovered. Brian Fisher in Sharaf et al. (2012).

The new species is named Tapinoma wilsoni, in honour of the celebrated ecologist, ant specialist and popular biology writer Edward O. Wilson of the Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology.  The species is described on the basis of 30 worker Ants captured during field-work in 2011. These are 1.56-1.84 mm Ants, yellow or brownish-yellow in colour and covered in fine hairs.

Tapinoma wilsoni in lateral view. Sharaf et al. (2012).

Tapinoma wilsoni in dorsal view. Sharaf et al. (2012).

Frontal view of the head of Tapinoma wilsoni. Sharaf et al. (2012).

See also New species of Leafcutter Bee from Saudi Arabia and Evidence of fungal parasites modifying the behavior of ants from the Eocene Messel Shale.

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Water and Hydroxides in the Circumstellar Disk around HD 163296.

HD 163296 is a young Herbig Ae star (a star producing heat by gravitational collapse, which is expected will fuse Hydrogen in the future, but which has not reached this stage yet) slightly under 400 light years from Earth. It is surrounded by a fairly well documented circumstellar disk, which reaches slightly over 900 AU from the star (i.e. over 900 times as far from the star as Earth is from the Sun). Such disks around young stars are thought to provide the reserve of material from which planets form, making understanding the processes that go on within them important for understanding the formation of planets.

Hubble Space Telescope image of the disk around HD 163296. Grady et al. (2000).

In a paper published on the online arXiv database at Cornell University Library on 17 July 2012, and in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on 18 July 2012, a team of scientists led by Davide Fedele of the Max Planck Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik describe the discovery of a band of warm, gaseous, Water (H₂O) and Hydroxide (HO) molecules within the HD 163296 Circumstellar Disk, using the Spitzer Space Telescope.

The H₂O producing region was found to be 15-20 AU from the star, and to have a temperature of 200-300 K (-73.15 to 26.85 ℃). This would be to cold for gaseous water on Earth, but in space water sublimates directly from a solid to a gas, so this is less surprising. It is not clear if the molecules were being produced by the disk, or were being ejected from the star, which is known to produce microjets of material from its polar regions.

See also The formation of a Keplerian Disk in the L1551 NE Protostellar System, A second star in the T Chamaeleontis system, Fomalhaut b; not a planet after all? The strange debris disk of 99 Herculis and The Protostar HOPS-68.

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